If You Have Decided to Buy a Used Mac
If you have decided to become the happy Mac owner with limited budget, the best option is to buy refurbished Mac with warranty and tech support coverage. However some users still consider the option to purchase a used Mac. There are several steps potential owners should take to ensure the machine is in good condition when they see it for the first time. Take the external drive with preinstalled OS X, CD/DVD, headphones and microphone (eventually headset) with you.
1. Check if it has any sign of physical damage.
Check thoroughly if it does not have any scratches. Check all the screws. Check if the case and screen is not bent.
2.Manufacture date or how old is your Mac? Here you may find helpful resources that help to determine your Mac model:
3. Check if your Mac boots. Boot your Mac. Wait until it loads the Desktop picture. If OS X is not installed you should prepare the external drive with OS X . Hold down the option key once you hear the chime and select the external drive to test your Mac out.
4. Firmware password. Did the previous owner set it?
If the firmware password is set you won’t be able to boot in the Safe mode, Single user mode and perform basic troubleshooting steps. Once you hear the boot chime hold down the option key and check if your are prompted to type the password. More info here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204455
5. Check the display for defective or dead pixels ( for laptops and iMacs)
It’s a good idea to prepare pictures with coloured background(white,green,red,blue). Open all these images in full screen mode. If a pixel is defective you should notice small coloured spot on the display. You may also use some third party checkers or utilities for this purpose.
6. Keyboard test.
Open the Text Edit app and type each key character. Also click on Capslock and check if it works. Use all functional keys and some basic combinations . For example command + S to save a file. Ctrl + click on this file to do the secondary mouse click and see the contextual menu. You may also enable the keyboard viewer. Navigate to preferences/ keyboard and enable Show keyboard & character viewers in menu bar.
7. Check the ports.
Connect the external hard drive to every USB port. Make sure it is recognized. Connect headphones and microphone. Test it.
8. Check the iSight camera( for iMac and Mac notebooks) You may launch Photo Booth app to test if the webcam works.
9. Check the optical drive condition
Insert CD/DVD and check if the optical drive reads them. Optionally you may burn files to CD/DVD.
10. Check the S.M.A.R.T. status
Check the hard drive for errors.In order to do this launch Disk Utility (navigate to Applications/Utilities) and check the S.M.A.R.T.(Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology). If you see “Failing” status it is not a good idea to buy this Mac. You may also use third party test tools available on the App Store.
11. Check the battery condition (Mac laptops only)
Click on the Apple logo. Hold down the option key and select System Information. In the Hardware section click on “Power”. Health information shows cycle counts and the condition of the battery. Here you may determine the maximum battery cycle counts for your Mac notebook: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201585.
12. Hardware Test
You may run Apple Hardware Test to diagnose problems with internal hardware(logic board, memory and other components).
Feel free to add your comments and suggestions to improve this user tip.